Have you ever dreamed of a nugget ice machine at home but are wary of the lofty promises? We have one, and you can read all about the experience of owning your very own nugget ice maker below.
If you know, you know nugget ice. It’s the good ice. The adorable, chewable ice that is practically a snack in itself. I LOVE nugget ice with a passion and last year my dream came true when Mike gifted me a nugget ice machine for Christmas.
A nugget ice machine has been on my radar forever. I conveniently forgot about home nugget ice makers and I must say, my Christmas gift was both a surprise and an absolute win! Christmas day was full of nugget ice and everyday after we have enthusiastically used our nugget ice maker.
What is nugget ice?
If you’re not in the know, you might be wondering, what the heck is nugget ice? Yes, it’s just ice, but really, it’s special ice! Nugget ice has air pockets giving it layers and layers. Think of nugget ice as the croissant of the ice world. The layers create pockets of air, making nugget ice fluffy and not at all dense or hard. Nugget ice is fluffy and chewy.
Why is nugget ice special?
Nugget ice is not regular ice. It’s shaped, unsurprisingly, given its name, like a small nugget. Because it’s made in a machine that adds pockets of air, the nuggets are softer and chewier. The air pockets let liquid seep in, flavoring the ice so they become little chewable nuggies of whatever beverage you’re drinking. It has the ability to cool drinks fast while melting slow. The special part is the texture: crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
How is nugget ice made?
Nugget ice is a special process of flash freezing water while extruding it through tiny holes. Most nugget ice makers work like this:
- The water passes through an extruder that has small holes
- As the water pushes through under pressure, little droplets form
- The droplets flash freeze into nuggets with air pockets naturally forming during the freezing process.
- Boom, you have nugget ice!
Homemade nugget ice
It used to be that nugget ice at home was a dream, but now, there are so many counter top nugget ice machines out there. The only way to make nugget ice at home is with a nugget ice machine.
Best nugget ice machines
We absolutely love our Easyera nugget ice maker. It makes ice quickly, in about 20 minutes, it’s super easy to clean, and it’s pretty compact. Sure, it’s a little noisy, but the nature of nugget ice means that the extrusion and freezing process is always going to be a little loud. We’ve never had any issues with our nugget ice machine. There’s a self cleaning mode and it makes more than enough ice for the two of us. I love that it’s smaller than so many of the other nugget ice machines out there because it lives permanently on our countertop.
The GE Profile Opal 2.0 Ultra nugget ice maker has been floating around a lot lately but it’s HUGE and apparently it’s not very easy to clean. Plus, at $629 it’s double what we paid for our nugget ice maker. We haven’t tried the ice from the Opal, so I can’t comment on the ice quality, but for the countertop size and price, I definitely think the Easyera is the way to go. Plus, call me old, but I’m not really sure why I would need a nugget ice maker with built in wifi and voice control.
I spent a little time perusing amazon because let’s be honest, there’s nothing I love more than online shopping, and if I had to choose a different nugget ice machine, I think I would get the Vevor. Apparently it’s super quiet which is perfect for people who can constantly hear humming slash machine noises and it keeps the nugget ice frozen for a pretty long time. It does look a little big, but I like the stainless steel housing and it has several positive verified purchase reviews.
Where do they have nugget ice?
Probably the best known place for nugget ice is Sonic Drive-In. People go to Sonic simply for their ice: both in drinks and to buy bags of nugget ice. Lots of other places have nugget ice too, if they have nugget ice machines. I’ve been to gas stations (Buc-ees) with nugget ice as well as independent soda shops. HTeaO in Texas has nugget ice (try a mix of sweet coconut and sweet almond green, it’s heaven!).
Other nugget ice machines
I haven’t tried these ones but I’ve taken the hopefully helpful step of collating the 4 bestselling machines on Amazon below, along with their iceage per day, in no particular order:
- Aeitto Nugget Ice Maker (55lbs/day)
- HOMEZAY Pebble Ice Maker with Soft Chewable Pellet Ice (33lbs/day)
- COSTWAY Self Dispensing Nugget Ice Maker (56lbs/day) – honestly this one looks pretty cool
- Silonn Smart Pebble Ice Machine (44lbs/day)
Nugget ice vs crushed ice
There’s no competition, it’s nugget ice every time. Crushed ice is regular ice that is crushed into small irregular chunks. It has the same consistency and hardness as regular ice. Because it’s regular ice, the melt rate of crushed ice tends to melt quickly, watering down drinks. Nugget ice minimizes dilution and has a better crunch/chew experience.
Nugget ice forever and ever!
xoxo steph
